The Secrets That We Keep
by Ruby Sapphire Rose
Summary: 1st story in my "Hearts Never Lie" series. Korra goes through the unthinkable to keep her deepest secret hidden, believing in her heart that it's reveal will cause her to lose everyone she holds dear. But when her secret does come out, will her fears be proven true? WARNINGS ON PROFILE! PLEASE R&R!
1. A Deal For Silence

**A/N: Everything except for the characters that are mine belong to Bryke and Nickelodeon (I'm going to reveal them in the chapter that they first appear in so I don't give anything away). **

**This is the first story in my "Hearts Never Lie" series and starts during the last scene in the Book 1 episode "The Aftermath". Everything up until this point is the same as it was in the series except for the reason behind the Makorra kiss at the arena (more about that in this chapter), but starting now, most of the events of this story will be different from what they were in the series. **

**One more thing, this story is VERY anti-Mako, which is weird because I like him and I'm a HUGE Makorra shipper. But this story just popped into my head one day and wouldn't go away until I wrote it down. Also, this series features mentions of abuse, rape (though I never describe the act in detail), same-sex couples and couples that have a large age difference between them (but that doesn't come till the next story). If you do not agree with any of these themes, stop reading now. **

**THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING! **

**With all that said, here is the first chapter... **

Lin Bei Fong sat on the edge of the bed inside one of the guest rooms in the main residence of Air Temple Island, waiting for the healer to come examine her and feeling like a

complete failure. The raid on Hiroshi Sato's secret factory had been a disaster and had left her seriously injured and her officers being taken prisoner by Amon. Now that

madman was probably taking their bending away and it was all her fault. She was the one who had led them down to the basement into Sato's trap. She was just starting to

wonder where the healer was when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." She said.

The door slid open and to Lin's surprise, it wasn't the healer who walked into the room, but Korra, holding a wrapped up towel in one hand and a pitcher of ice water in the

other.

"Avatar? What are you doing here, where's the healer?" She asked.

"I convinced Tenzin not to wake her up and let me heal you instead." She said.

"And what qualifies you to be a healer?" Lin asked.

"Well, I was trained by Master Katara." She said. "Now do you want me to make you feel better or not?"

Lin was silent for a few moments as she thought it over. Korra was trained by the best healer in the world and at this point, the pain she was experiencing was becoming

unbearable.

"Fine." She said.

"Good." Korra said. "Now take off your armor, do you need help standing?"

Lin immediately shook her head. It was bad enough that she couldn't hide her pain; she didn't want the Avatar to think she was a complete invalid. She slowly stood up and

bended all of her armor off, grimacing the whole time. While she was doing this, Korra walked over the bedside table and placed the pitcher and towel on it before unrolling the

towel to reveal a roll of cotton and a rolled up bandage. She turned back to Lin, who had somehow gotten her armor off and was now wearing her white undershirt and black

pants.

"Okay, now tell me where you're having pain." Korra said.

"Its...my sides...mostly." Lin managed to get out as she sat back down on her bed. "But...my right shoulder...is also...hurting."

Korra nodded.

"Alright, we'll check out the shoulder first." Korra said. "Try to relax, I'll be as gentle as I can."

She placed both her hands on Lin's shoulder to determine if it was out of place. Lin gritted her teeth as she continued to try and hide her pain, finally letting out the breath she

had been holding when Korra let go.

"Good, it's still in place. Looks like all it's need is some healing and a little rest time." She said. "I'm going to use the water now. Just hold still, this'll be cold."

Lin nodded and prepared herself as Korra bended the water out of the pitcher. She gasped as the cold water touched her shoulder, which turned into a sigh of relief as the pain

faded away. After a few moments, Korra returned the water to the pitcher.

"Try not to use that shoulder for the next few days." She said. "Now for your sides. I need to check if any of your ribs are broken. "

Lin gave her a nod and raised her arms slightly, allowing Korra to gently pressed her hands against her ribs, making sure nothing felt abnormal. When she was done, she turned

back to Lin.

"It feels like you may have broken a couple of ribs on your right side and cracked or bruised some on your left." She said. "I can put the bones back in place, but I'm going to have to wrap them so that they'll stay in place while they're healing."

Lin nodded.

"I know." She said. "Katara healed enough broken bones of mine when I was a kid."

Korra smirked at her.

"So the great chief of police was a trouble maker as a kid." Korra said.

"Not as much as my sister was." Lin said.

Korra was about to ask her about what she had just said, but decided against it. It wasn't a conversation she wanted to have so late at night and she wasn't sure it was a

conversation Lin wanted to have at all.

"I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt a lot." She said as she grabbed the towel, the rolled up cotton, and bandage from the bedside table. "I'm going to give you the towel to bite on, but I'm going to sit on your lap and I want you to sit up and hang on to me while I heal you. I'm also going to need for you to have your shirt off. "

Lin was about to tell her that the towel would be enough, but Korra stopped her.

"No excuses." She said as she folded up the towel. "Don't worry about hurting me, I've got tough skin. Now open up."

Lin reluctantly did what she was told and Korra placed the towel in her mouth before climbing onto her lap.

"Raise your arms so I can take your shirt off." She said.

Lin raised her arms as high as the pain would allow her, but it was enough for Korra to get the shirt off her, leaving her in just her upper bindings. She placed Lin's right arm

around her shoulders and her left arm around her waist, then bended the cold water from the pitcher. She looked at Lin

"Ready?" She asked.

Lin nodded and Korra gently placed her glowing water covered hands on her right side, hearing Lin's muffled scream and feeling the grip on her shoulders and waist tighten as

she slowly healed her.

"Just hold on." Korra said. "I'm almost done."

When the ribs were finally back in place, she removed her hands and bended the water back to the pitcher. She felt Lin's fall onto her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, just rest for a bit and let me know when you're ready." She said. "I promise the other side won't hurt as much."

She felt Lin shake her head and murmur something into the towel.

"What?" Korra asked.

Lin reached up and pulled the towel out of her mouth.

"Keep going." She said.

"Are you sure?" Korra asked.

"Just do it." Lin said.

Korra gave her a nod and rearranged Lin's arms so that her left was wrapped around her shoulders and her right was around waist, then bended the water back onto her hands

and gently placed them on Lin's left side. Though there was less pain than when her right side was healed, Lin still gritted her teeth and clung tightly to Korra until she removed

her hands and Lin's head fell back to her shoulder. Korra knew she was exhausted and decided to let her rest for a few moments before continuing. With her face so close to

Korra's neck, Lin could smell the unique scent of ocean water coming from her, which was strangely comforting to her. But as much as she wanted to remain like this, she also

knew that having feelings like this for someone this young was wrong and would only end in heartbreak for her, so, reluctantly, she pulled away. Korra picked up the rolled up

cotton and wrapped it around Lin's mid section, then wrapped the coarse bandage over it. After she secured it, she helped Lin put her shirt back on, got out of bed, and grabbed

the towel and pitcher. When she turned around to tell Lin goodnight, she saw her trying to get out of bed.

"What are you doing?" She said.

"I need to write my resignation letter so I can turn it in the morning and come up with a plan to get my officers back." She said.

"You can write your letter in the morning, Tenzin has a council meeting and told me to tell you that he would take your letter to the city with him." Korra said. "And as much as you don't want to hear this, you and I both know that your officers' bending is probably gone by now. You're in no condition to help them right now, just get some sleep and tomorrow you can come up with a plan. I'll even help you if you want."

Lin let out a sigh, knowing that Korra was right.

"Alright." She said, laying down and pulling the thin blanket up to her shoulder.

"I'll see you in the morning." She said.

She turned and walked towards the door, slid it open, and was about to leave when Lin spoke up again.

"Korra?" She said.

Korra turned around, surprised. Lin had never called her by her name before.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Thank you." Lin said.

Korra gave her a small smile.

"Don't mention it, Chief." She said. "Good night."

"Good night." Lin said.

Korra walk out to the hall and softly shut the door behind her.

After taking the pitcher and towel back to the kitchen, Korra made her way back to her room for some much-needed sleep. She was almost at the entrance of the woman's

dormitory when she felt something grab her and pull her behind a tree. Korra prepared herself to fight off whoever grabbed her, only to stop when she saw who it was.

"Mako?" She said. "What are you doing here? This is the women's dormitory."

"I know." He said. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine, nothing that some rest won't cure." She said. "See you in the morning."

She tried to walk away from him, only to have him grab her by the arm again and pull her back.

"You know, when I found you laying down there, it made me realize just how much you mean to me." He said.

"You mean a lot to me too, Mako." Korra said. "You, Asami, and Bolin are my best friends."

"No Korra, my feelings for you are way different than the ones you have for me." He said.

He started to lean forward and Korra instantly knew what he was going to do. She immediately pushed him away.

"I thought we were over this, Mako, I told you what my feelings for you were after you pulled me into that kiss at the probending arena and Bolin saw us." She said. "And might I remind you that you have a girlfriend? One whose life was just turned upside down? What kind of boyfriend are you to be hitting someone who has absolutely no feelings other than friendship for you while your girlfriend is probably crying herself to sleep?"

Mako looked at her.

"I feel bad for Asami, but that doesn't change my feelings for you." He said. "Come on, I know if you just experience what it's like to be with a man, you'll change your mind about your feelings for me."

Korra looked at him, shocked at what he just said.

"Are you crazy?!" There's no way I would EVER do that with you." She said. "I'm going to bed, leave me alone!"

She tried to walk away and once again, Mako grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!" She said.

"You will let me do this, Korra, or I'll tell everyone who you truly are. How do you think Bolin is going to react when he finds out? Asami? I've seen how you look at her and what your real feelings for her are. I also know that they share the same feelings I do about people like you." He said. "And Tenzin, how do you think he'll react when he finds out that someone like you has been around his wife? His children?"

Korra looked at him angrily, knowing that she had no choice. If she didn't do what he said, she would lose all the people that she now considered her family.

"Fine, I'll do it." She said. "But you're going to have to get me some kind of protection. Air Acolytes don't use birth control and there's no way I can get some from a healer without being noticed in the city."

"Don't worry, I know just where to get you birth control." He said. "Just be ready tomorrow night after everyone goes to bed, I'll seek in through the window."

Before she could stop him, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"See you in the morning." He said.

Korra watched him walk away as a sick feeling began to grow in her stomach and she began wondering what in the word she had gotten herself into.

**Endnote: So what did you think? Review and let me know. **

**As you can tell, this story is going to be very dark (the next story will be not be like this). Like I said in the AN, I'll never describe the details of what will happen Mako and Korra because I and many other people I know consider that rape and I never write about the actually details of rape. There will be smut in this series, but that won't be until the next story and I've decided to put those scenes in a separate story so that if that gets taken down, it won't take the whole story with it (if you want to read the story with these scenes included, they'll be on AO3 and my Tumblr page). **

**Until next time, thanks for reading and don't forget to review! **

**Bye! **

**Ruby Sapphire Rose**


	2. The First Night

"That...Was...Awesome!" Bolin said as they got off the ferry.

Tonight had been the first night the new Team Avatar had patrolled the streets of Republic City. Tenzin had allowed them to use the ferry to get to and from the city, but told

them they had to be back on the island by 10:00 since Korra and the monks operating the ferry had to be up early for morning meditation. She was so caught up in the

earthbender's infectious happiness that she almost forgot what she and Mako were going to do after everyone went to bed. That morning after meditation, as she was walking

into the dining room for breakfast, Mako walked up to her and quickly slipped a pouch made of velvet into her hand.

"One spoonful of herbs per cup and make sure your stomach is empty when you take them." He whispered before walking ahead of her into the dinning room.

Korra quickly hid the pouch in her airbending robes as the sick feeling in her stomach that she had felt the previous night started to come back. That afternoon, after changing

from her airbending clothes to her normal ones, she ran into the bathroom in women's dormitory and prepared the tea using the herbs and a cup and spoon she had snuck out

of the kitchen that morning after breakfast. As she gulped down the tea, Korra couldn't tell if it was the hot liquid or the shame she was feeling that made it burn as it went

down her throat.

Later that night, after saying goodnight to Bolin, walking back to the women's dormitory with Asami, and telling her goodnight, Korra went to her room, grabbed the spoon and

cup she had used that morning and another small pouch made of red cloth, and returned to the bathroom to brew herself another cup of tea, only this time she was using

sleeping herbs instead of the contraceptive ones. She had gotten them after she told Tenzin and Pema about the nightmares she was having that were keeping her awake after

her failed confrontation with Amon on Avatar Aang Memorial Island. Even though Pema had given her enough herbs to last a couple weeks, Korra stopped taking them after only

two days when her nightmares ended, but kept them around in case the nightmares came back or her thoughts kept her awake at night.

Earlier that day, while she and Tenzin were flying back to the island after Saikhan's inauguration as Chief of Police, she came up with her idea to get Mako to stay away from her

that night. Her plan was to take enough herbs to make her drowsy enough that she would be awake when Mako arrived at her room, but fall asleep before he went too far,

forcing him to stop. She quickly made herself another cup of tea with the herbs from the red pouch and drank it all in one gulp before returning to her room, knowing that Mako

could be there at any moment. She had just finished hiding the cup, spoon and herbs when she heard a tapping on her window. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the

window and opened it to find Mako standing on the other side. He quickly climbed into room and shut the window behind him, then turned back to Korra, who was starting to

feel the effects of the herbs.

"You okay?" He said.

"Fine." She said as she started to take her shirt. "Let's just get this over with."

Mako reached over and stopped her.

"No rushing." He said as he pulled her into his arms. "I want us both to remember this."

The next thing Korra knew, Mako was kissing her full on the lips and it took everything in her not to push him away. The kiss lasted a few minutes before Mako pulled away,

grabbed the bottom of her shirt, and roughly pulled it over her head.

"Get on the bed." He said.

Korra did as he said as Mako took off his over and undershirt shirt, then laid down on top of her. He returned to her lips, kissing her hard before moving down to her neck.

"Easy!" She said. "I don't want to have to explain any bruises."

Mako looked up and smirked at her.

"Don't worry." He said in a low voice. "I'm marking you in a place only I will be able to find."

Korra got quiet as Mako continued to move down her body, flinching as she felt Mako pull off her upper bindings and lick her breasts.

"Relax and enjoy this, Sweetie." He said. "You know what will happen if you don't."

She forced herself to remain still as Mako kissed down her stomach, closing her eyes and praying to the spirits that she would pass out before Mako could go any further. A few

moments later, just after he untied the fur around her waist and started to unfasten her pants, she finally did.

The sunrise shinning through her open window woke Korra the next morning. As she became awake, she looked around the room, saw that Mako was gone, and let out a sigh of

relief. She sat up and closed her eyes as she started to stretch, but stopped when she suddenly felt an ache in her lower stomach and between her legs. She opened her eyes

and gasped at what she saw. She was completely naked, there was dried semen on the inside of her thighs, and on the inside of her left thigh was a dark purple hickey.

Disgust and sadness filled Korra. Despite everything she had done to prevent it, Mako had had his way with her. Not only that, but he had had sex with her while she was

unconscious. She had never felt more dirtier in her life than she did at that very moment.

Just then, a breeze brew threw the window and sent a piece of paper that had been sitting on her bedside table into Korra's lap. She picked it up and began to read it:

Sorry I left before saying goodnight, you just looked so peaceful lying there that I didn't have the heart to wake you up.

See you at breakfast

P.S. Don't think that last night was a one-time thing.


	3. A Ceremony and A Birthday

**A/N: OMG! Ten Reviews! Nine Favs! Sixteen Story Alerts! I don't even know what to saw except thank you guys so much and I'm SO HAPPY you love this story!**

**Anyway, Ketu, Tashi, Izayoi, and the baby (you'll find out the name in this chapter) are mine. **

**Also, the outfit that Lin is wearing this chapter is the same one she wears at the end of "Old Wounds", except the big sleeves are gone and the long sleeves are up to her shoulder and are grey instead of green. **

**Enjoy the chapter...**

As the days passed, Team Avatar's nighttime patrols of the city continued, as well as Mako's nighttime visits to Korra's room.

Every morning, after meditation, Korra would run back to her room, get her cup, spoon, and contraceptive herbs, hide them in her airbending robes, and go to the bathroom in

the women's dormitory, where she would make her first cup of tea for the day and drink it before going back to her room and hiding the items and going to the dinning room for

breakfast. Then at night, after everyone returned from the city and she, Asami, and the boys would go to their respective rooms for the night, Korra would get her sleeping

herbs, cup, and spoon, go to the bathroom, make herself a cup of tea, drink it, go back to her room, and hide the cup, spoon, and herbs and wait for the tap on her window

shutters that signaled Mako's arrival. Every night, she would pass out as Mako got her clothes off and every morning would wake up alone and naked with the evidence of what

had happened staining her and the sheets of her bed.

One morning, a week after Asami and the brothers moved onto the island, Korra was picking at her food, trying to build up her appetite that had begun to diminish as a result of

what Mako was doing to her.

"Korra, why aren't you eating?" Jinora asked. "You're going to need your strength for airbending practice."

Korra looked up at her.

"I'm just not hungry this morning." She said

"Are you getting sick? Do you have to go back to bed and rest? Does this airbending practice is canceled for all of us?!" Ikki asked.

"Ikki, that enough. Finish your breakfast." Pema scolded. "If Korra isn't hungry, then she doesn't have to eat."

"And just because Korra is too ill to practice airbending doesn't mean that practice is cancelled for the rest of you." Tenzin said.

Korra turned to him.

"I'm not sick Tenzin, I'm just not hungry is all." She said.

Tenzin gave her a nod, though he started to grow extremely worried about his pupil. He had notice a change in her over the past week and wondered if it had something to do

with what Tarrlok had told her at Saikhan's inauguration or if she was having those nightmares about Amon again.

"Well, Jinora is right. You are going to be needing your strength today, though it will not be for airbending practice." He said.

"So there is no practice today?" Meelo asked.

"For Korra, yes. For the three of you, no." Tenzin asked.

All three kids let out a groan as their hopes for a day off were dashed as their father turned back to Korra.

"I'm taking you over to Lin's apartment after breakfast for a healing session." He said. "But the real reason that practice is cancelled for today is because I need your help for an event that will begin at sundown tonight and last until tomorrow night." He said.

"What is it?" Korra asked.

"Ketu and Tashi's imprinting ceremony." He said. "I believe that officiating it will help you with the spiritual block you've been having."

Korra looked at him, not believing what she had just heard. She knew what an imprinting ceremony was since they were still practiced in the Water Tribes. Some couples still

had them instead of a regular wedding or would have them both to keep with Water Tribe tradition. Couples who had a person that was not born into the Tribes would also have

them so that that non-Water Tribe spouse would become a member in the eyes of the Tribes once the couple was married. The ceremony would begin with the couple mediating

with the tribe's shaman all night during a full moon. Next they would go to the shaman's hut and, in front of their family and friends, sit hand in hand while a symbol of their

love was carved into their chest right over their hearts and the shaman recited special prayers for the couple. After the wounds were healed just enough to leave a scar, the

shaman would declare the couple husband and wife and the couple was allowed to rest until nightfall when a big celebration put on by the families of the couple that would last

until dawn.

Korra had never heard or seen a same sex couple having imprinting ceremonies and whenever she asked her parents or Katara why this was, they just got quiet and would

change the subject. It wasn't until she was older that she found out.

"You mean, they can have an imprinting ceremony even though they're both guys?" She asked.

Bolin looked at her, confused and a little hurt.

"Of course they can, Korra. Why would them being two guys matter?" He asked.

"Because Bolin, same sex couples aren't allowed to have imprinting ceremonies in the Water Tribes." Tenzin said.

Korra nodded.

"In the Northern Tribe, people who are found to love people who are the same sex as them are actually banished." She said.

"What about the Southern Tribe?" Asami asked.

"We don't have a problem with it. In fact, most of the people who are banished from the North often settled in the South because we're so accepting." Korra said. "But since the people of the Southern Tribe had to follow the same laws as the people in the North, same sex imprinting ceremonies aren't allowed there either."

She looked over at Tenzin.

"Are you sure Ketu and Tashi are okay with me taking part in their ceremony?" She said.

"Positive." Tenzin said. "In fact, when I brought up the idea with them, they were both excited that it was going to be you that would be leading them into this next phase of their lives."

He turned to Asami and the brothers.

"You all are invited also." He said.

"Really? Even though we don't know the couple?" Asami asked.

Tenzin nodded.

"Whenever there is a big event here, everyone is on the island is invited." He said. "That includes you three."

"Wow! I've never been to any kind of imprinting ceremony before." Bolin said. "This is going to be awesome!"

"But I don't know the first thing about officiating an imprinting ceremony, Tenzin." Korra said. "I've only been to a couple when I was little and both times I fell asleep from boredom during the ceremony at the shaman's hut and wasn't allowed to go to the nighttime celebration because I was too young."

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything to you on the way to the city." Tenzin said.

Korra nodded and, despite the fact that she still not hungry, managed to eat half of her meal before she and Tenzin left for the city.

Meanwhile, in her small apartment in the city, Lin had just finished breakfast and was walking into her living room holding two moon peaches, Izayoi's favorite food. Most people

would find it strange that someone with Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation roots would like the Air Nation fruit, but she loved them. Lin gently placed the moon peaches on the

coffee table, then walked over to the small cabinet that was next to the bookshelf. She opened it up and took out two sticks of incense, a holder for them, and some matches.

After closing the doors to the cabinet, she moved to the top of it, where there were four framed pictures of a younger looking Lin and a beautiful woman in her thirties with a

slightly rounded stomach. Lin could still remember the look on Izayoi's face the day they reached the fourth month and the tears of happiness that had replaced the tears of

devastation that had come when their first two tries had ended in failure and loss.

Since they didn't have any professional pictures taken of them, even during their wedding in Zaofu two years before, both Lin and Izayoi decided to have pictures done after the

baby was born to celebrate their new family. Those plans changed when Su called and told them to come to Zaofu so that a portrait could be done of the entire family. The

photographer not only taken a picture with the entire family, but had taken one for each family and family member. Out of the four pictures taken of them that day, one with Lin

by herself in her uniform, one with the two of them smiling with Izayoi sitting in a metal bench with Lin standing behind her with a hand on her shoulder, and another of them

standing under a tree with Lin standing behind Izayoi, kissing her while her hands lay on her six-month pregnant stomach and Izayoi's hand on top of hers, the one that she

picked up from the top of the cabinet was her favorite. It was of Izayoi leaning against the same tree and smiling as she looked down at her stomach and touched it lovingly.

They had no idea that just a month later...

Lin shook her head, clearing it of memories.

"No." She said to herself. "Not today."

She went back over to the coffee table, and arranged everything on it before walking down the hall to her bedroom. After taking a shower, rewrapping her ribs, and changing

into a grey and black outfit, she walked over to her dresser where two gold urns sat that had the symbol of the Fire Nation engraved on them as well as the name of the person

whose ashes it contained, next to it was a green bag made of velvet. Lin opened it and pulled out a gold locket that was in the shape of a circle and had the symbol of the Earth

Kingdom on the front and a gold arm bracelet similar to the one that her mother had that had a ruby on each end. She slipped on the bracelet onto her left arm, placed the

locket around the lid of the bigger urn, picked it up, and looked at the smaller one.

"Don't worry, I'll bring her back." She said, then turned and went back to the living room.

She sat the urn on next to the picture of Izayoi and knelt in front of the coffee table. The she put the incense in the holder, lit a match, and was about to light the sticks when

she heard a knock at the door. Lin sighed; she had forgotten that Korra was supposed to come over for a healing session today. Blowing out the match, she got up, walked to

the door, and opened it to find Korra and Tenzin on the other side.

"Morning Avatar, Tenzin." She said. "Come on, let's get this over with."

She led inside them inside apartment and Lin led Korra back to her bedroom while Tenzin waited in the living room, just like he had done every other day since Lin had left Air

Temple Island the morning after the failed raid of the Sato mansion.

Lin shut the door to her bedroom and took off her bracelet and the top part of her outfit, knowing by now that it had to be off for Korra to heal her. The Avatar looked at her.

"Your shoulder must be feeling better if you're using it." She said.

"I haven't had any pain since the last session." She said.

Korra walked into the bathroom, placed the stopper in the drain of the sink, and turned the water on. When she had enough to cover her hands, she turned off the water,

bended it onto her hands, and walked back into the bedroom, where Lin was sitting on the bed waiting for her, her sides now unwrapped.

"What about your ribs?" She asked.

"There's still some pain, but nothing I can't handle." Lin said.

Korra nodded and placed her hands on her shoulder. As usual, Lin let out a gasp.

"Do you have to use cold water?" She said.

"All waterbending healers do." Korra said. "It's clearer than warm water and helps numbs a person's pain while they're being healed."

She removed her hands.

"Your shoulder is better." She said. "Now for your ribs."

She placed her hands on Lin's left, then right side to see how her ribs were healing.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news." Korra said. "The good news is that your ribs have completely healed and you don't have to wear the bandages anymore."

"And the bad news?" Lin asked.

"Though your ribs are healed, they're still very bruised. So you're going to be in pain for a little while longer." Korra said.

Lin gave her a nod.

"Like I said, it's nothing I can't handle." She said.

She stood up and put her top and bracelet back on while Korra went back to the bathroom to return the water to the sink.

"By the way, have you had any luck finding your officers?" Korra asked as she walked back into the bedroom.

"No, Amon's good at covering his tracks. I've done surveillance on all the places my...the police suspected of holding Equalist meetings." She said. "But so far, nothing."

"Well, my friends and I are here if you need any help." Korra said.

Lin looked at her.

"I've been hearing about the adventures you and your friends have been having in the city." She said. "Please be careful Korra, Tarrlok is not a person you want to make an enemy of."

"You're wrong." Korra thought to herself. "There are people much worse than Tarrlok."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Korra, are you almost finished with the session? We have to get back to the island." Tenzin's voice called out.

"Yeah Tenzin, we'll be right out." Korra called back.

They heard him walk back into the living room and Lin turned back to Korra.

"What's he so anxious about?" She asked.

"There's a big event on the island that starts tonight and he wants me to take part in it because he thinks it will help with the spiritual block I've been having." Korra said.

Lin nodded.

"Well, I've also got some things I need to do today." She said. "Come on, I'll walk you two out."

They left the bedroom and walked back into the living room to find Tenzin standing in front of the coffee table, holding a framed photograph and looking at it sadly. Korra

couldn't tell what or who was in the photograph, but from the way Lin's body was tensing up, it was something very personal to her.

"Korra, go outside." She said, her voice leaving no room for an argument. "I need to talk to Tenzin alone."

Korra looked over at Tenzin, who had looked up when he heard Lin's voice and was now looking into the eyes of his angry ex-girlfriend as she started walking towards him. He

quickly turned to Korra.

"Go on out and wait with Oogi, Korra. I'll be there in a few moments." He said.

Korra nodded, left the apartment, and walked downstairs where Oogi was patiently waiting for her and Tenzin. She walked over to the front of the bison's head.

"Looks like Tenzin made Lin mad again, Oogi." She said. "I don't know what was in that picture, but I've never seen Lin act like that."

Oogi let out a groan and blew air out his nose, blowing Korra's wolf tails. Korra smiled and gave him an affectionate rub on his head, ruffling his fur. She continued to do this

until she heard a door open and saw Tenzin walk out of Lin's second floor apartment, when she went around to Oogi's tail and used it to climb up his back and into the saddle

while Tenzin used his airbending.

"So...is everything okay?" Korra asked.

"It will be after we give Lin some time to calm down." He said.

"What was that picture that you were looking at?" She asked.

Tenzin let out a sigh.

"It's of someone that Lin lost a long time ago, someone who was very dear to her." He said.

He took of the reigns.

"Oogi, yip yip!" He said.

The bison shot up into sky with Korra keeping her eyes on Lin's apartment, wondering just who it was that Lin lost that could have made her act like she had.

Lin watched through her front window as Oogi took off, pressing the picture of Izayoi to her chest like she had while Tenzin was telling her that she had to move on with her life

and find someone new. It was the same talk he had with her many times over the past ten years, but he just didn't understand. With her age and workaholic lifestyle, nobody

would want her. Izayoi had been the only person who had accepted her for who she was and her one chance of having everything she ever wanted and one idiotic decision had

ripped Izayoi away from her forever. She didn't even know why Tenzin was on her case about this. He was the one person that had never accepted her and Izayoi's relationship.

He didn't even come with Pema to the hospital the night that...

"Stop it!" Lin told herself. "You are not going to think about that today!"

She walked back into the living room and placed Izayoi's picture next to her ashes, then knelt in front of the table, lit another match, and lit the sticks of incense. As their aroma

filled the air and the tears began to fall down her face, Lin said the words she said every year on this day,

"Happy Birthday my beautiful Izzy. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you and our precious Sokka."


	4. I'll Keep You Safe

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out. For the past few weeks, I've been going through a bout of Anticipatory Anxiety and Depression. For those of you who have been lucky not to have this kind of anxiety, it can hit hard and fast and take weeks to fully recover, which is why this chapter has been coming by VERY slowly. **

**I would like to thank everyone for the reviews and follows I have been getting, it's been helping me feel better. **

**Also, there are a couple announcements coming in the endnote.**

**And now, on with the story... **

The next morning, Korra was inside the island's main temple, keeling between Ketu and Tashi and holding their clasped hands in her lap as Tenzin tattooed the symbol of the

couple's love onto each of their chests and recited Air Nomad blessings for the couple. The island's residents surrounded the four of them with Asami, Bolin, and Mako watching

in the back. For this part of the ceremony, Korra was supposed to be meditating along with Ketu and Tashi and asking the spirits for good fortune for the couple. But try as she

might, there were too many thoughts going through her head to do the task, so she just kept her eyes closed and her head bowed and hoped that she wouldn't fall asleep. She

was just starting to slip into unconscious when she felt a hand on her shoulder and Tenzin whisper,

"I'm finished."

Korra nodded, opened her eyes, and turned to the couple laying side by side.

"Ketu and Tashi, please rise." She said.

She watched as the two men sat up and looked at her.

"The ceremony is now complete and you are now bonded for life." She said. "Go now and greet your brothers and sisters for the first time as husbands!"

Ketu and Tashi stood up and walked hand in hand to the crowd of air acolytes. Korra smiled as she watched everyone gather around the couple and congratulate them, then

stood up and made her way out of the temple, hoping no one noticed her. Her hopes were dashed when she felt a hand and turned around to find the face of the firebender she

had grown to hate.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked.

"I've been up all night, Mako." She said. "I'm going to bed."

Mako nodded, his hand not leaving his shoulder.

"I'll walk you back to your room." He said.

Then, in a low voice that only she could hear, he said,

"I figure we could have a little fun."

Fear instantly filled Korra. Though she was tired enough that she would probably fall asleep before anything happened like she usually did, she hadn't had the time to take her

contraceptive herbs that day.

"Please not now, Ma..." She began.

He immediately stopped her, the grip on her shoulder tightening.

"Don't tell me no again, Korra." He said in the same low voice he had used earlier.

Korra could feel the familiar sick feeling that she had been having for the past week come back to her as Mako steered her toward the women's dormitory. Just before they were

out of earshot of the temple, they heard a voice call out,

"Korra!"

They turned around and saw Jinora running towards them.

"Where are you going?" She asked. "Don't you want some breakfast?"

"Korra's tired after being awake all night." Mako said. "I'm taking her back to her room to get some rest."

Jinora looked at Mako.

"You can't do that, you're a boy." She said. "Boys aren't allowed in the girl's dormitory. Well, except for Daddy."

"I'm just going to make sure she gets to bed okay." Mako said, lying through his teeth.

Jinora shook her head.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that." She said. "I'll take Korra back to the dorms and make sure she gets to bed."

Before Mako could stop her, Jinora walked over, took Korra's hand, and led her to the women's dormitory, leaving Mako seething in anger behind them.

When they reached the dormitory, Korra thought that Jinora would just leave once they got to her room. Instead, the young airbender followed Korra into her room and closed

the door behind her. Korra looked at her.

"You don't have to stay." She said as she started changing into nightclothes and pulling the ornaments out of her hair. "I'm just going to get some sleep before the party."

Jinorra nodded.

"I know." She said. "I just need to talk to you."

"About what?" Korra asked.

"I'm really worried about you." She said. "You haven't been acting like your usual self and I think I know why."

Fear filled Korra at what Jinora had just said. How had she found out? Did she see Korra run to the bathroom to take her herbs? Had she woken up during the night and seen

Mako sneaking through Korra's bedroom window?

"You still have feelings for Mako and it's hard to see him and Asami together all the time." Jinora said.

Relief filled Korra as Jinora continued.

"I know it's been hard to see the guy you like with another girl." She said. "But as much of a nice guy Mako is, if he can't see how much of an amazing person you are, then he doesn't deserve you."

Korra gave her a small smile.

"Thanks Jinora." She said.

Jinora smiled back.

"Now Bolin, I think he's the guy for you. He's so nice and funny." Jinora said. "And he did bring you a cupcake AND a rose, so he clearly likes you."

Korra kept the smile on her face, though a feeling of sadness had come over her. She hadn't told the girls about the night she hung out with Bolin in the city or the forced kiss

with Mako the next night that almost destroyed their friendship.

"I'll keep that in mind." She said.

Jinora nodded.

"Well, I'll let get some sleep." She said.

She walked over to Korra and gave her a hug.

"See you later." She said.

"See you later." Korra said back.

She watched Jinora leave the room and close the door behind her, laid down, pulled the blanket up with her shoulders, and fell asleep.

A few hours later, Korra was awaken by a knock at her door.

"Korra, it's time to wake up and get ready for the party." She heard Pema's voice call out. "Get cleaned up and I'll be back to do your hair."

Korra let out a groan as she crawled out of bed and stumbled over to her wardrobe, opened it, and pulled out her robe. Then she walked over to where she kept everything

hidden and pulled out the cup, spoon, and contraceptive herbs and put them in the pocket of her robe before leaving for the showers. On her way back, she stopped by the

bathroom and quickly made and drank her tea before returning to her room, where she put the herbs, cup, and spoon back in their hiding place. She was just finishing putting

on her under wrappings when she hear a knock at the door.

"Korra, are you ready for me?" Pema called.

She quickly pulled her robe back on.

"Come on in, Pema." She called back.

The door opened and Pema walked in wearing the dress she had worn to Tarrlok's gala and holding a hairbrush, a small piece of string, and a few hairpins.

"Okay, get your cap and ornaments and let's do your hair." She said.

Korra did as she was told, including grabbing her wrist guards and armband, and they sat down on the bed. It was quiet while Pema brushed Korra's hair until it was soft and

free of tangles while Korra put on her left wrist guard. Then, as Pema gathered the top half of her hair up and used the string to secure it to the top of Korra's head, she spoke

up.

"Korra, are you feeling alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine, why wou..." Korra began.

Then she stopped.

"Jinora told you, didn't she?" She said.

"She just said you were going through a hard time and that's why you haven't acting like yourself." Pema said. "Are you having those nightmares about Amon again?"

"No, it's not that." Korra said softly.

"Is it about Mako?" Pema asked.

Korra stayed quiet, her silence seemingly answering Pema's question.

"I know it's hard to see him with Asami and knowing that he doesn't re..."

"I'm not interested in Mako!" Korra cried before she could stop herself.

She immediately covered her mouth, not believing what she had just said. She turned around and looked at Pema.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"It's alright, Sweetheart." Pema said. "Besides, now that I've seen the kind of person he is, I think Bolin is better match for you anyway."

"Jinora said the same thing." Korra said as she turned back around and Pema gathered all the hair held by the string, placed in the small cap, and pinned it into Korra's hair. "But I only like him as a friend."

Pema was confused. If Korra didn't want to be with either Mako or Bolin, then who...

That's when the realization of what Korra was saying hit her.

"Korra, do you have feelings for Asami?" She asked. "I mean, more than just friendship?"

Korra stopped adjusting her right wrist guard and after a moment, turned around and looked Pema in the eye.

"Please don't say anything, especially to Asami. I've messed up her life enough and the last thing she needs is a freak like me telling her about my unnatural feelings for her." She said in a soft, sad voice.

"First of all Korra, you are not a freak and the feelings you are having are completely normal, even if they are for girls." Pema said. "Second, I won't tell Asami or anyone else, but I think you should. It's not wise to hold these kind of things inside."

Korra looked at her.

"I'll think about it." She said.

Pema nodded as she placed Korra's side ornaments into her hair. It wasn't what she had wanted Korra to say, but it would do for now.

"There, now let's get your dress on." She said.

They got off the bed and walked over to the wardrobe, then Korra opened it, took off her robe, hung it back up, and pulled out the traditional Water tribe dress that she had

warn to Tarrlok's gala. After taking it off the hanger, she stepped into the dress and slid her arms through the sleeves. Once it was adjusted, Pema zipped up the back and Korra

slipped her armband onto her left arm. Pema turned her around and smiled.

"You look beautiful." She said.

Korra smiled back at her.

"Thanks." She said.

"I need to go get the kids get ready." She said. "I'll see you at the party."

Korra nodded and Pema walked over to the door. But before she opened it to leave, she turned back to the Avatar.

"Korra?" She said.

"Yeah." Korra said.

"Please consider what I said earlier, okay?" She said.

"I will." Korra said. "I promise."

Pema nodded, then left for the main house and for the first time in a week, Korra felt the world had been lifted off her chest. If Pema had reacted that well to her liking girls,

then surely Tenzin and everyone else would too. That's when she made the decision to tell everyone her secret the next morning at breakfast and when Mako can to her window

that night, she would tell him that their deal was off. She pulled her nice boots out of the wardrobe and put them on before leaving her room with a smile on her face and

walking towards the main house, knowing that Pema would need help with the kids.

For the rest of the night, the residents of Air Temple Island celebrated the union of Ketu and Tashi with food, dancing, and games. Korra was having such a good time that, for a

while at least, she forgot about all of her problems. When they party finally can to an end, and after Tenzin told her that morning meditation was cancelled, but training would go

on as scheduled, Korra went back to the women's dormitory still in a great mood. She took her hair down, changed into her pajamas and got the sleeping herbs, cup, and spoon

out of their hiding place and went to the bathroom to make her nightly cup of tea. But unlike the previous nights, the reason she was taking it tonight was because she knew it

was going to be impossible for her to get to sleep on her own after the amazing night she had. After drinking her tea, she walked back to her room and put them back in their

hiding place and sat down on the bed, waiting for the familiar tapping on the window. A few moments later, it came. She walked over to the window, opened it, and watched

Mako climb inside.

"I thought that stupid party would never end." He said.

He grabbed her by the arms and was about to pull her into a forced kiss when Korra pushed him away.

"What's your problem?" He asked.

"You're never going to do that to me again." She said in a deathly tone. "In fact, you're never going to touch me again."

Mako looked at her.

"You're joking right?" He said. "You know what will happen if you refuse me."

Korra shook her head.

"I don't care, Pema already knows and she accepts me and I know everyone else will too when I tell them at breakfast tomorrow." She said. "Now get out of here, Mako, and don't you ever come back."

She turned around to get in bed, only to have Mako grab her arm.

"This isn't over, Korra, not by a long shot." He said. "Either you give me what I want or...

He paused when something hanging on the wall caught his eye. He turned back to Korra, an evil grin now spreading on his face.

"Or I get it from somewhere else." He finished.

Korra looked over at what he was looking at and when she saw what it was, her heart sank. Hanging on the wall were two pictures that had been there since Korra's second day

on the island. She turned back to Mako.

"No." She said. "Please."

"Then you'll do what I say." Mako said. "Now get your clothes off and get on the bed."

With shaking hands, Korra stripped herself of her pajamas and under wrappings and laid down. Mako got on top of her and kissed her hard on the lips and as he moved his

kisses down her body, Korra turned back to the two pictures on the wall.

"Don't worry." She thought to herself as the herbs took effect and she was pulled into sleep. "I'll keep you safe."

**Endnote: I'm sorry if this chapter isn't all that great, but it's been a rough few weeks for me. The good news is I'm finally feeling like myself again. Now, here are my two announcements: **

**First off, as you can see, I've changed the title of this story. After rereading the written version of this story and the next one in this series, I decided that "Love Doesn't Ask Why" is a more fitting title for the next story than it is for this one. So from now on, this story's title is "The Secrets that We Keep". **

**Second, I've decided to go ahead and start my next series now that Book 3 is finished airing. I was hoping to finish the first story of this trilogy and put up before Book 3 aired, but I ran out of time and decided to put it on hold so that I could add the events of this most reason to it. This does not mean I'm abandoning this story or that it's going on hold. What I'm going to do is alternate updates between this series and my other one from now on. So next week, the first chapter of the new trilogy is going up, then the new chapter for this series will go up the following week and so on. **

**Well, that's it for now. Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review and I'll see you next time!**

**Bye!**

**Ruby Sapphire Rose**


	5. Advice, Comfort, and a Fire

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews everyone, especially for the last chapter! And to answer the question that everyone has been asking: sorry, but you're not going to find out who Mako is threatening for a while. **

**Enjoy the chapter!**

Korra walked into the communal showers on Air Temple Island, hot, sweaty, and sticky from practicing her bending in the hot sun all day and holding a clean change of clothes,

a washcloth, and a towel. She turned on water to just below hot and began stripping off her clothes, trying not to look down at her body. Ever since she tried to stop Mako a

week ago, he had become rougher with her. Now it was becoming common for Korra to wake up with bruises on her thighs, hip, wrists, or all three. He also always left a note

that said the same thing every time:

Tell anyone and you know what will happen.

Korra finished undressing and quickly stepped into the shower before somebody could walk in and see her. Taking her washcloth, she lathered it with soap and began scrubbing

her body hard, trying to imagine that, as impossible as it was, that she was scrubbing all that Mako had been doing to her over the past two weeks off her. Finally stopping when

it felt like her skin was burning, she washed her hair, turned off the water, dried herself off, and bended the water out of her hair. Then she wrapped the towel around herself,

stepped out of the shower, dressed and put her hair up quickly, gathering up her wet towel, washcloth, and dirty clothes and left for the women's dormitories.

Korra was a few rooms away from hers when the sound of someone crying stopped her. She kept walking, following the sound, until she was in front of Asami's room. She

knocked on the door.

"Asami?" She said.

There was no answer. Korra softly opened the door and found Asami lying on the bed with her back to the door, her shoulder shaking as she cried. She set the bundle of dirty

clothes down by the door, then walked over to the bed, sat on the edge of it, and placed a hand on Asami's shoulder, making the former heiress jump. Korra quickly removed her

hand.

"I'm sorry! I was just walking by and heard cr..." She began.

Asami sat up and started wiping her tears away.

"It's alright." She said.

"Are you okay?" Korra asked.

Asami nodded.

"I'm fine." She said. "Mako and I had a fight."

Korra looked at her sadly.

"I'm sorry." She said. "Do you mind if I ask...what was it about?"

Asami shrugged.

"I was the one who really started it." She said. "It's just...he's changed since we came to live here."

"How so?" Korra asked.

"He's been so distant with me and he's not as affectionate as he used to be." Asami said. " When I confronted him about this, he got angry and said that I was the one who had changed and that...that..."

"What?" Korra said.

Tears started to reform in Asami's eyes.

"That I changed so much that he wasn't sure he wanted to be with me anymore." She said.

"But Mako loves you. You guys just haven't had some time to yourselves since you arrived here." Korra said. "You need a date night."

"A date night?" Asami asked.

Korra nodded.

"How about tonight you two take your dinner and go have a picnic on the beach." She said. "Then later tonight, we'll do patrol for an hour, then you two can have the last two hours to yourselves while Bolin and I go hang out in the city."

Asami thought about it for a moment.

"It has been a while since we've had the night to ourselves." She said. "Do you really think it will help us?"

"I know it will." Korra said.

Asami smiled a little.

"Okay, I'll do it." She said, pulling her into a hug. "Thanks Korra."

Later that night, Bolin and Korra were walking around Republic City Park with Bolin while Asami and Mako had taken the car out for some time to themselves, promising to came

back early enough for them to make it back to the docks in time.

"So, we've walked all around the park, what do you want to do now?" He asked.

Korra tried to stop the yawn that she could feel coming, but it came anyway. She covered her mouth and looked at Bolin.

"Sorry." She said. "Do you mind if we find somewhere to sit down? I'm kind of tired."

"Okay." He said.

He looked around for a moment.

"How about that tree?" He said.

Korra look at where he was pointing and instantly recognized it as the tree that she and Mako slept under the night that Bolin went missing.

"Ah..sure, that looks good." She said.

They walked over to the tree and as they sat down, Bolin notice the grimace on Korra's face.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Korra quickly nodded.

"Yeah, just sore from all the bending practice I did today." She said.

Bolin nodded, though a part of him didn't believe her. It was quiet for a few minutes as Bolin looked upon the bright lights of the city and Korra gazed upward into the night sky.

Finally, Bolin let out a sigh and turned back to Korra.

"Korra, are you doing okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She asked.

Bolin sighed.

"Korra, I've seen how you've been acting since me, Mako, and Asami moved to the island. You barely eat anymore and your clothes are starting to hang off you and then you practice your bending until your ready to collapse. Now what's going on in that head of yours? Come on, you can tell your old buddy Bo." He said.

Korra let out a sigh. Bolin could never find out what Mako was doing to her. As much as she now hated Mako, she couldn't take away the only family Bolin had left.

"I'm fine Bolin, really I am." She said. "I just haven't been sleeping well because of everything with Am..."

He stopped her, the look on his face now serious.

"So you're having them too?" He said.

Korra was confused.

"Having what?" She asked.

"The nightmares." He said. "I've been having them since that Equalist rally and they're always the same thing. You and Mako don't get there in time to save me and Amon takes away my bending."

"But we did get you out and he didn't take your bending." Korra said.

"That's what I keep telling myself every time I wake up, but the nightmares still come." Bolin said. "What are yours about?"

Korra quickly came up with something that she hoped would be believable.

"I'm on Avatar Aang Memorial Island and instead of knocking me out, Amon takes my bending and then brings everyone I care about in front of me and makes me watch as he takes away their bending one by one." She said.

Bolin looked at her.

"Wow, no wonder you're having trouble sleeping." He said.

It was quiet again for a few moments, then Bolin spoke up.

"Hey, I got an idea." He said. "How about tonight we sleep together in the same room? That way if one of us has a nightmare, the other person can wake them and calm them down."

Korra immediately became scared, knowing that there was no way that could happen. Besides the fact that Bolin would find out what was really happening to her, Tenzin would

never allow it.

"Bolin, you know we can't do that." She said. "If we're caught..."

"I don't mean sneaking into each other's rooms." He said. "We can stay somewhere like the reading room and sleep far enough apart where the most we can do is hold hands."

Korra didn't want to get his hopes up, but she also knew if she refused, Bolin would know something was wrong.

"Okay." She said. "If I have a nightmare tonight, I'll come to the reading room and stay with you."

"Great!" Bolin said.

Just then, they heard footsteps and saw Mako running over to them.

"There you are! I've been looking all over the park for you two." He said. "Me and Asami lost track of time and we have ten minutes to get to the docks! Come on, let's go!"

Korra and Bolin got up and ran behind him to where Asami was parked. She drove them back to the docks, quickly parked the car, and they all ran across the street to the ferry,

boarding with only seconds to spare. During the ride back to the island, Korra noticed the smiles on Asami and Mako's faces, the way the kept holding each other, and the kisses

they kept exchanging and could only hope that meant that Mako wouldn't leave any new bruises on her tonight.

As the sleeping herbs sent Korra into sleep with Mako once again on top of her, she expect to wake up like she had every morning for the past two weeks, alone and naked with

Mako's semen on her legs. Instead, she was awoken by a hard slap to the face. Her eyes shot open and she looked up at Mako, who was standing in his underwear and had his

hand wrapped around one of her sore wrists, his face inches away from hers.

"What was that for?!" She asked.

"Asami said you were the one who suggested we go on a date tonight." He said.

"Yeah, so?" Korra said.

"Who do you think you are butting into my relationship MY girlfriend?!" He said.

"I was just giving advice and comfort to my upset friend because her jerk of a boyfriend was threatening to breakup with her." Korra said. "And from the way you two were acting the ferry, you should be thanking me that you still have a girlfriend."

Mako just stared at her for a moment, then roughly pushed her wrist away and moved away from her.

"Stay away from Asami." He said.

Korra didn't want to fight with him, so she just nodded, sat up and reached for her pajama top.

"Where are you going?" Mako asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm going to the reading room to sleep with Bolin." She said.

Mako grabbed her again, this time by the arm.

"What do you want with my brother?" He said in a possessive tone.

"He's been having nightmares because of what happened to him at the Equalist rally, something that you would know if you paid attention to someone other than yourself." She said. "I told him I would stay with him tonight so that if he had another one, I could wake him up and calm him down." She said.

She pulled her arm away from him before adding,

"You know your way out of here, so get out!"

She stood up and started to reach for her pajama pants when she felt Mako grab her arm again.

"No!" He said angrily. "You're mine, do you hear me?! Mine!"

He threw her into wall next to the bed, causing Korra to hit her head. She was so dazed that she didn't notice Mako grab both of her wrists, tied them to the headboard with his

scarf, and flipped her over. She started to struggle as he ripped off her top and he leaned close to her ear.

"You've made me angry, Korra, now you have to be punished." He said. "Try to free yourself by firebending and you know where my next stop will be."

The second Korra heard that, she stopped struggling and prepared herself for the worst. It didn't matter how badly he hurt her, as long as he didn't hurt anybody else.

In the main residence, Jinora was reading in her room by candlelight while keeping an ear out for any noise near her room. She was suppose to be asleep an hour ago, but

because she was so close to the end of her book and it was getting really good, she waited till everyone was asleep, then lit a small candle she kept in the room for nights like

this. When she finally finished her book, she got out of bed, walked over to her bookshelf, and put the book back before returning to bed and blowing out the candle. She turned

around to close her window, but stopped when she saw a light coming from one of the windows of the women's dormitory. She knew that the room that the light was coming

from was Korra's and thought that she had forgotten to turn her lamp off before falling asleep again. But then she saw that the light had a reddish orange color and was

flickering and instantly knew what it was. Jumping out of bed, she ran across the hall to Ikki's room, ran over to her bed, and started shaking her.

"Ikki, Ikki wake up!" She said.

Ikki groaned and tried to push her sister away.

"Go away, Jinora." She said sleepily.

"Come on Ikki, wake up!" Jinora said. "Korra's room is on fire!"

Ikki opened her eyes, now fully awake.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"Korra's room is on fire!" Jinora repeated. "I'm gonna go get Korra and everyone else out of the dormitories, you go get Daddy!"

Ikki nodded and ran out of her room and down the hall to her parents's room while Jinora ran outside, formed an air scooter, and road it as fast as she could to the women's

dormitory. When she arrived, she ran down the hall, using her airbending to open all the doors and yelling for everyone to wake up and go outside. When she got to Korra's

room, she felt the door to make sure it wasn't hot, pulled it open, and came face to face with a frightening sight. Korra was lying naked on her stomach on the bed with her

hands tied to the headboard with her pajama top stuffed in her mouth. Standing at foot of the bed, in only his underwear and holding a fire whip, was Mako. Jinora watched as

he brought the whip onto Korra's back before she snapped back into reality and shot the biggest blast of air she could at him, sending him head first into the wall. She watched

him slide to the ground, then ran over to Korra and began calling her name as she pulled the pajama top out of her mouth and tried to get her hands free. She almost had the

scarf loose when she was grabbed by the front of her shirt, pulled up, and slammed her into the wall above the bed.

"You little brat!" yelled an enraged Mako as he pulled back his fist that was now ablaze.

Jinora screamed and tried to break free of his grasp. Mako's fist nearly was inches away from her face when he was suddenly pulled away from her, causing him to let her go

and her to fall to the bed. She looked up and saw her father hold Mako up by his shirt like Mako had done with her and beat him mercilessly. Remembering what she had been

doing moments before, Jinora reached over to the headboard and finished uniting Korra's hands, causing her head and arms to fall to the bed with a thump, then placed her

hands on her burning, blood covered back and tried to shake her awake.

"Korra, Korra, wake up!" She cried desperately. "Please wake up, Korra! Please!"

"Korra." She heard.

Jinora pulled her blood-covered hands away from the Avatar's back and looked up at Tenzin with a look of shock on his face.

"Daddy." She said fearfully with tears forming in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. "Korra won't wake up."


	6. Another Secret Exposed

Even though his mother was the best healer in the world, Tenzin knew very little about the subject itself and what he had learn, he had gotten from the few times he watched

her treat his siblings, mostly Bumi, when they got hurt as children. But one of the most important things he learned was that you had to put pressure on a bleeding wound as

soon as possible. Quickly taking off his robe, he placed it on a naked Korra's torn up back and gently pressed down to try and stop the bleeding. He heard footsteps running

toward the room and turned to see one female and two male White Lotus sentries standing in the doorway.

"Master Tenzin, we noticed a commo...?" One of them began.

Tenzin stopped him, knowing that he had to get Korra help, and fast. He pointed to the female sentry.

"You come over here and help me with Korra." He said before pointing over to where a beaten up and half conscious Mako was leaning against the wall. "The other two get him out of here and take him to your quarters until the police get here."

They all nodded and the female sentry walked over to the bed while the two males pulled Mako to his feet and dragged him out of the room. After showing the sentry how to

apply pressure to Korra's back and telling her to do so until the island's healer got there, Tenzin turned back to Jinora, who was still kneeling silently next to Korra on the bed,

looking down at her bloody hands as tears poured down her face.

"Jinora, let's get you back to the house." He said.

Jinora looked up at him and shook her head. Tenzin knew that she didn't want to leave Korra.

"Korra will be fine, Sweetheart. Ying Na will be here in just a moment." He said. "Come on, we have to get you cleaned up."

Jinora shook her head again and Tenzin knew she wasn't going to leave until she knew that Korra was going to be okay.

"Alright, you can stay for now." He said. "But if Ying Na tells you to leave, you have to come back to the house, understand?"

Jinora nodded and Tenzin walked back outside, where Asami, Ying Na, and the rest of the female air acolytes were standing after they had been evacuated.

"Asami, Ying Na, I need to speak to the two of you." He said. "The rest of you can return to bed. Everything will be explained in the morning."

Everyone reluctantly went back to their rooms except for the healer and the former heiress, who walked up to Tenzin.

"Master Tenzin, what's going on?" Ying Na asked.

"Where's Korra?" Asami asked. "She didn't come out with the rest of us."

Tenzin let out a sad sigh before saying in a low voice so that only they could hear him,

"Someone broke into Korra's room and attacked her." He said. "I believe he forced himself on her as well."

Ying Na's eyes grew wide and Asami covered her mouth in shock.

"Who did it?!" Asami asked.

Tenzin looked at her sadly. After everything that she had been through, the last thing she needed was to find out that her boyfriend raped and nearly killed the Avatar.

"That's not important right now. The person responsible is being held by the White Lotus until the police arrive." He said.

He turned to Ying Na.

"Jinora is refusing to leave her until she is assured that Korra will be all right, but I told her to leave when you told her too." He said. "Treat Korra's back, but tell Jinora to leave before you treat her other injuries."

Ying Na nodded and turned to Asami.

"Can you come with me? I'll need your help keeping the Avatar calm while I examine her."

Asami nodded and the two women entered the dormitory while Tenzin walked back to the main residence. He was almost to his and Pema's bedroom when he saw his wife

walking down the hall.

"There you are, I finally convinced Ik..." She began.

She stopped when she saw that their oldest child wasn't with him.

"Where's Jinora?" She asked.

"She's safe." He said. "But...something's happened."

The shrill of the telephone waking her up in the middle of the night was something that Lin was use to after all these years. But after not hearing it for two weeks, it's sound now

caused her to shoot up in bed and her eyes to open wide. After taking a couple of seconds to calm down, she reach over to the phone on the bedside table.

"Bei Fong." She said, her voice still laced with sleep.

"Lin, it's me." She heard a familiar voice say.

"Tenzin? Do you have any idea what time it is?!" She said.

"You have to come to the island!" He said. "Korra's been attacked!"

At that moment, Lin's sleepiness disappeared.

"Do she know who the attacker was?" She asked as she began to strip herself of her nightclothes.

"Yes, I ordered the White Lotus take him to their quarters until you got here." He said. "Lin, it was Mako."

Anger filled Lin. She had gotten a bad vibe from that boy the moment she saw him and had never liked him because of it. As much as she didn't want to know the answer her

next question, she knew it had to be asked.

"Tenzin, did he rape her?" She said.

It was quiet for a moment, then he said.

"She was naked and tied to the bed when I got there and Mako was only wearing was his underwear." He said. "Please Lin, if there is anybody on the police force that you can still trust, bring them with you. I want him to pay for what he did to Korra and Jinora."

"What did he do to Jinora?" Lin asked, hoping that it wasn't the same thing he did to Korra.

"When I got to Korra's room, Mako had her pinned against the wall and was about to punch her in the face with a fire fist." He said. "Lin, if I hadn't gotten there in time..."

"Tenzin, stop it. Jinora is fine, we have to focus on Korra now." She said. "Has she cleaned herself up yet?"

"No, she passed out because of the beating she was given. The healer is mending her wounds right now." She said.

"Alright, go back in there after you hang up and tell her not to clean her up. We're going to need as much evidence as we can get from her. " Lin said. "Also, Jinora is going to have to be questioned."

"Please not tonight, Lin. She's been through so much..." Tenzin began.

"And she's the only person who saw what Mako did. If you want him to pay for what he did, then Jinora has to be questioned and the sooner, the better." She said. "I'll be there soon."

"Okay." He said. "Thank you."

Lin hung up the phone and threw on the undershirt and pants she wore under her uniform on before walking over to her wardrobe and bending her uniform on. Then she walked

back over to the phone and dialed the number of the one person she knew she could trust and could only hope was home since it was too much of a risk to call them at the

station. After a couple of rings, she heard a groggy voice say,

"Hello?"

"It's me." She said. "Looks like we're going to have to reveal our plan after all."

Korra remained unconscious while Ying Na examined her back and Asami ran her fingers though her hair. When Ying Na was finished, she recovered Korra's back with Tenzin's

robe and turned to Asami.

"I need to go get some things I'll need to treat and bandage Korra's wounds once we get her cleaned up." She said. "Stay here in case she wakes up."

Asami gave her a nod and Ying Na turned to Jinora.

"Korra will be fine now, all there is left to do is clean and bandage her. You should go get yourself clean up and go back to bed." She said. "You can come back and see Korra in the morning."

Jinora nodded and climbed off the bed, careful not to touch anything with her blood covered hands. Before leaving the room, she walked over to where Asami was sitting next to

Korra's head, leaned down, and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I'm sorry." She said.

Asami looked at the young girl sadly as Ying Na led her out of the room and closed the door behind them, then turned back to Korra and resumed running her fingers through

her hair, simply because she didn't know what else to do. As she looked at the bruises on Korra's thighs, hips, and wrists, she was still in shock that this had happened and that

it had happened to one of the strongest people she knew. A knocking on the door pulled Asami out of her thoughts and she turned to it.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"It's Tenzin, Lin is on her way and she's bringing someone from the force that she said we could trust." He said through the door. "Is Jinora still in there?"

"No, the healer made her leave after she finished with Korra's back." Asami said.

"Alright, I'm going to the docks to wait for the ferry." He said. "Make sure to tell Ying Na not to clean up Korra. Lin said that they need to collect as much evidence as they can from her."

"I will." Asami said.

She heard Tenzin walk away and wondered why he wasn't telling her who had done this when he obviously knew. A few moments later, the door slid open and Ying Na walked in

carrying everything she would need to clean Korra and her wounds.

"Has she woken up?" She asked.

Asami shook her head.

"Good, this next step will likely be painful so it's best that she stay asleep." Ying Na said.

"Actually, Tenzin just came by and wants you to hold off cleaning Korra up until the police get here since they'll need to collect evidence from her." Asami said. "

Ying Na nodded.

"Okay, I need to check between her legs anyway." She said. "Help me turn her onto her back."

Asami nodded and stood up. She took Korra by shoulders as Ying Na took her by her ankles and they slowly turned her onto her back, causing Korra to stir and whimper.

"Shh, it's okay Korra." Asami said softly as she sat back down next to her and resumed running her fingers through Korra's hair while her other hand took Korra's closest hand into hers and ran her thumb over her knuckles.

Once Korra was back to calmly sleeping, Ying Na gently took hold of her knees and separated them. At that moment, Korra's eyes flew open and she let out a scream as fought

to get away from Ying Na's grasp.

After what felt like an hours long wait, the ferry arrived at the Air Temple Island docks. Tenzin watched as the air acolytes lowered the ramp and Lin walked down with the last

person he wanted her to bring.

"Why on earth did you bring him here?!" He asked. "You know the first he's going to do when he leaves here i...?!"

Lin stopped him.

"You told me to bring someone we could trust and he's the only one I would trust with my life and can see to it that that boy get's what he deserves." She said. "Believe me, he's not going to report this to Tarrlok."

Tenzin looked at the man standing next to Lin.

"And why should we believe a word he says?" He asked.

"Because Chief Saikhan and I are working together to bring Tarrlok down." Lin said.

**Endnote: And I'm done! **

**I'm so so sorry this is so late! Besides my job and deciding to rewrite parts of this chapter (and the writer's block I had to fight while doing it), I broke my ankle in two places, staffed an out of state convention, and had to nurse my sick dog back to health. **

**But enough of my ranting, HOW AWESOME IS BOOK 4?! Seriously, I was screaming when I saw Toph and started crying when she said that line at the end. **

**Also, thanks for all your amazing likes and reviews! I love everyone one of them! **

**See you next time!**

**Ruby Sapphire Rose**


End file.
